Return of the Puppetmaster
by Rex Madison
Summary: Two months after her defeat, Botan lives a lonely suburban life, still desperate for revenge but just trying to make ends meet. Then a pair of misfortunate events leads to a shocking discovery. Now, if she plays her cards right, Botan might just have that revenge...and oh, so much more. (1/31/20 UPDATE: discontinued. See Ch4 for more details.)
1. That Fateful Day

Author's Notes

...oh, good lord, I'm actually doing it. Pray for me ;_;

Okay, first thing's first: I _really_ shouldn't be doing this. Y'know how I like to wait to post till a story's complete, or at least till I've got buffer chapters? Well for this one, this is it. This is all I got. O.O;;; But it's been a while since I put out an actual fic, so I just felt _compelled_ to go ahead and post something already. Needless to say, **updates may be sporadic**...but I'll do my best!

Second, I know I haven't been reading/reviewing as much lately. I won't apologize, I've said elsewhere I needed to calm down a bit. Instead I'll reassure you that the deal goes both ways: if you don't wanna review this, don't. If you just want to say you liked it (or hated it!), do that. Don't leave a longass review unless it's _fun_ for you, no matter how close we are. If I'm not gonna do it, you shouldn't have to either. ;)

Third, _hey_, it's a Botan sequel‼ (That probably should've come first, lol.) I know I said I wouldn't do one - but the ideas just kept _bugging_ me, damnit. I'll warn you ahead of time that this story won't be like the last; that one became Kensou's story as much as Botan's, which this won't. Kensou'll get his time to shine, though, don't worry.

I'll also warn you ahead of time that this story is gonna get dark.  
Not _brutal_...but dark. ...really, _really_ dark.

Enjoy‼ :D

* * *

Chapter 1: That Fateful Day

"_Irasshaimase! Nanika osagashi desuka?_"

...she was so _sick_ of that phrase.

She'd been on the path to godhood once. Twice, even. She'd been able to wrap people around her finger, make them do anything she wanted. _Literally_, even. She had been special. Unique. Gifted. Capable of ultimate control. And with the right moves, she could have achieved absolute power.

Instead, on that fateful day, Botan - Botan the Puppetmaster - was standing behind the counter at a freaking _Starbucks_.

Her current customer wasn't making it any easier, either. He was one of the indecisive ones, the kind that acted like they'd never heard of Starbucks or even _coffee_ before. His eyes crawled down the menu slowly...studiously. His order might take the rest of the hour; it might take the rest of the day. At least there weren't any customers lined up behind him, for now.

"Can you tell me what's in the dark mocha chip frappucino?"

Botan blinked. "What's...in it?"

"Yes."

_...milk and sugar. It's COFFEE, MILK AND SUGAR, you idiot. What do you want from me⁇_ She kept the scowl off her face, though, as she recited the extra bits, the 1% of the ingredients that made _this_ coffee taste different from the other fifty kinds they had.

She shouldn't have needed this crappy job. She shouldn't have needed money again for the rest of her life. When you can make anyone do anything, money really _is_ no object; she'd stored up piles and piles of savings, too, since using cash was often easier. But when you don't trust the bank system (they wouldn't even keep _her_ money separate!), your best bet for storing those piles is a safe deposit box. And when the man that gave you one off-the-book suddenly remembers doing it, he has no problems opening it and taking your money to Aruba.

"What's the difference between blended and double-blended?"

_Five extra minutes, a thinner drink, and a punch in the face._ She left that last part out of her reply, of course; she'd probably leave it out of the order, too, unfortunately.

The postal worker wasn't the only one who'd snapped out of it, either. On the day it all came crashing down, she hadn't just lost her special gift - she'd lost control of everyone still in her clutches. Was it a dozen people? Dozens? She had lost count at that point. And just like that, all of them had realized what they'd done...and, often, that _she'd_ made them do it. Which limited her recovery options a bit.

"Can you get the cappuccinos without foam?"

"...actually, no," Botan muttered, managing to only narrow her eyes a _little_ bit. "It's...kind of what makes it a cappuccino."

"What do you mean?"

As she explained it to the man, she tried not to think about what life had been like in the two months since...or where it was headed. She'd had no money, no job, no experience, no skills, no education, and no quick routes to any of it. She was just lucky she still looked good - and the best thing _that_ got her was a minimum-wage gig at a coffee shop (and a uniform that made her look lousy anyway). She wanted dearly to move _forward_ with this new life, to make some kind of _goals_ beyond petty vengeance. But right now, she was exhausted just from making ends meet.

"...okay...I'll have a decaf, low-salt, half-percent-milk, gluten-free - "

"Sorry," she cut him off as politely as she could, "but we don't have half-percent milk. Just one-percent or skim."

"Really? ...oh, man. That changes _everything_. Hold on..."

"Take your time," said Botan, smiling through gritted teeth.

She was idly wondering if you could kill a man with an espresso machine when a new customer came in. She took a quick, absent glimpse at her - then did a frantic double-take, as she realized she had just glimpsed a head of purple hair.

_...holy SHIT._ It only took her half a second to confirm that yes, this _was_ Athena Asamiya, waltzing into her coffee shop without a care in the world. Botan, of course, couldn't have possibly cared _more_; she immediately turned and dashed to the back, leaving her customer at the counter with a confused look on his face.

Her coworkers looked confused, too, when she got back there. "Botan? What's wrong?" one asked, as she flattened herself against the wall.

"Cover for me, Yumi!" she gasped, throwing the woman her apron without looking.

As Yumi headed for the front, she and the others stared at Botan with raised eyebrows. But Botan ignored them completely, staring at the doorway and trying not to hyperventilate. _What in the hell is she DOING here⁇_ This wasn't Osaka! This wasn't even _Tokyo_! She would've _moved_ if she'd lived in one of those cities, just to avoid this encounter. But apparently, this girl popped up _everywhere_ at some point.

She might notice her without even seeing her, really. One of Asamiya's psychic powers was sensing evil...and Botan wasn't sure if she counted. She hadn't _done_ anything evil lately; her only evil intent was revenge (and really, was that so wrong?). But if she could see _more_ than that...if she could sense the darkness in someone's soul...Botan didn't know how much she'd find.

Swallowing, she creeped around the side of the doorway, risking a peek at her enemy. She had just started her order, her face all smiles and her attention still elsewhere. Grimacing, Botan ducked back in and waited a minute, then peeked back out. Now Asamiya had finished the order, and she stood at the other end of the counter; her face had drawn into a frown, and she looked around carefully...but she never managed to look in quite the right spot.

_She can't see me,_ Botan thought, backing up to the wall with a sigh of relief. She did _not_ want a confrontation with Athena Asamiya. She had done terrible things to the girl and her teammates; they would probably be seeking vengeance, too. Granted, the psychic was probably too _nice_ to kill her - but what _would_ she do? She could do just about anything...

"Ahhh, so that's the problem, Botan-_chan_!"

Botan whipped her head around to find another coworker grinning at her. "That's Asamiya-_sama_, isn't it?" he oozed. "You must be a _fan_."

"Grow up, Hiroshi," Botan shot back, grimacing and rolling her eyes.

"Don't worry, Botan. I'll help you out," he replied with a wink. He then started strolling around the corner, holding his hands to his mouth. "Ms. Asamiya!" he shouted. "Ms. Asamiya‼ I've got a - "

Botan grabbed his wrist and looked him dead in the eye.

"_I will kill you,_" she told him. And she meant it. And she _looked_ it.

Paling, the man dropped his grin and backed off, holding up his hands. Before he could say anything, though, he stopped and turned his head, staring at the counter and looking even more surprised. "It's...it's nothing," he called out sheepishly, surely answering Asamiya. Then he backed away further, moving out of the girl's view.

"How'd she look?" Botan asked grimly.

"...kinda angry," said Hiroshi, clearly shaken up. "She...she kept _staring_ at me..."

_Shit._ That one thought, that one little outburst, had put her on Asamiya's radar. Breathing hard again, she waited, keeping a firm grasp on her coworker so he could serve as a lookout. After a moment, she asked if the girl was still looking; the man peeked outside again, then shook his head.

"No, she's getting her drink now," he reported. "Still frowning, though. ...she thanked Yumi...she's heading out...and she's gone."

"_Oh_ thank god," Botan sighed, sliding down the wall in relief. That was _way_ too close.

"...what in the world was _that_⁇" Hiroshi asked.

"It's a long story," Botan answered. "...a long, _stupid_ story."

She didn't tell him the truth, of course. But she told him enough of it that she realized something important: she shouldn't have survived that encounter to begin with. The Dragon Spirit, the one who had ruined her life, had given her several orders. It had told her to leave China, and she had; it had told her not to return, and she knew she never would. But it had _also_ told her that if she approached the Psycho Soldiers again, she would perish...and she hadn't. Being near Asamiya hadn't killed her, not even when she'd _literally_ approached her from behind the wall to look at her.

Could this final order have just been an idle threat? Could she get to the Soldiers after all? That was _very_ interesting news. Of course, the kids spent most of their time in China; that ruled them out. And Gentsai spent most of his time with Kensou, the one who held the Spirit. That sure as hell ruled _them_ out.

But nothing ruled out Asamiya. Not even the darkness in her soul.

As she turned away from Hiroshi, Botan smiled. _One step closer to ONE of my goals,_ she thought with a grim sort of glee.

* * *

Meanwhile, Athena was _anything_ but "without a care in the world".

More like a nervous wreck, in fact. Had been ever since the Incident, as the Soldiers had come to call it. She'd had a short burst of optimism after Botan's defeat - but within days, it had given way to self-doubt and bitterness. She hated that she hadn't been strong enough to beat Botan herself...and, secretly, hated that Sie _had_ been.

The bitterness soon gave way to determination - a desperate need to learn to defend herself. She devoted every spare bit of her time to training, pulling out of future tourneys and all but abandoning her career. Before long her powers, scary enough to begin with, grew exponentially.

She learned to throw stronger projectiles, put up tougher barriers.

She learned to heal allies from a distance - and _immobilize_ enemies.

She learned to teleport efficiently, use telekinesis extensively.

And she finally, _finally_ learned to focus through pain.

Of course, Chin was delighted to help...at first. But it wasn't enough. She wanted to learn even more, to train her _telepathy_ as well. He soon ran out of things to teach her for that - and that didn't stop her, as she started using Kensou to experiment instead. Of course Chin didn't approve of that at _all_...but Sie was _always_ happy to help.

He had been in training too, of course. But where Athena was obsessed with her personal strength, Kensou was desperate to master the Dragon Spirit. Through some dangerous experiments of his own, he'd occasionally summoned it in times of "crisis", a.k.a. his own imminent death. But calling on it at will was still far beyond him.

On that fateful day, the two decided to combine their missions. Kensou, hoping to pinpoint what he felt when he summoned the Dragon, had asked Athena for help putting him in danger repeatedly. She'd agreed a lot faster than he should've liked, claiming she knew just the way to do it. Being in Japan - on _Chin's_ business, for once - limited their options for private training grounds, so they wound up going well outside the Tokyo prefecture.

After a quick stop for coffee at Kisarazu, the two ventured out into the spacious woods nearby. Eager to work and now loaded with caffeine, Athena could barely wait for them to get a safe distance inside. Then, without a word of warning, she showed Kensou her plan...by slowly lifting him into the air.

After a brief shock, Kensou turned to his partner in awe. "You can use telekinesis from _there_ now?" he asked, grinning. Last he knew, her best distance was a couple of yards.

"Yup!" she said, smiling from about ten feet away. "And I can use it from a whole lot farther than that...!"

Then she started _quickly_ lifting him into the air.

High, _high_ into the air.

At about twenty feet, Kensou balked. "Uhh...Athena? How high are you taking me⁇" he called out.

"As high as I can!" she yelled back cheerfully.

"And how high is that⁇"

"We'll find out...!"

The answer turned out to be about fifty feet. At that point he stopped rising, and Athena started to grimace. Kensou quickly noticed she was struggling and paled. "You're gonna be able to catch me if I screw up, right!?" he shouted.

"Just a little...further...!" she completely failed to answer.

Then, a few seconds later, Athena cried out in anguish - and Kensou started to fall.

_Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap..._ In his panic, he barely had the presence of mind to call the Dragon. But it didn't respond; it wasn't even _there_ right now, or at least that's how it felt. Knowing he'd blown it, Kensou started to scream -

\- until Athena caught him, slowing him to a stop over the last ten feet.

He landed gently on the ground with a tremendous sigh. Then he looked up at his partner and scowled, actually angry with her for once. "Jesus christ, Athena! You came this close to - "

But then he actually _looked_ at her, and he realized she hadn't. She was standing with her hands clasped behind her back, an innocent smile on her face. "...you weren't struggling at all, were you?" he asked, his scowl becoming a sheepish grin.

"Nope!" she giggled. "I can do this with _trees_ now, Sie. Don't worry."

"Oh, man," Sie laughed, shaking his head at her progress. But then he frowned a little bit. "...shoot. I wish you hadn't told me that. Now I _know_ I'm not in any danger."

"Hmm... Well, I _could_ go into your memories and - "

"Perfect! Do it."

And so the fools pressed on.

The experiment went on for about fifteen minutes, not once ending in success. Sometimes Sie would feel _some_ kind of tug in his head; once he even glowed a little bit. But for the most part, nothing. He was growing increasingly frustrated, too, especially since he never knew whether Athena could catch him or not. (Whenever he realized she always would, she simply wiped his memory again.)

Athena, on the other hand, had gotten bored. She'd had fun showing off and flexing her psychic muscles at first - but then it became the same thing, over and over again. Kensou didn't seem to be learning anything at all, and of course Athena had nothing _to_ learn from this. After a while she wound up just as frustrated as he was.

Lucky for her, she didn't have to deal with it much longer.

"...what on Earth is _this_!?"

Athena whirled around to find Master Chin, emerging from the nearby brush with a shocked expression. "Master!" she gasped, her hands clapping to her mouth -

"AAAAAAHHH‼"

Whirling again, she looked on in horror with Chin as Sie began to fall. He wasn't fifty feet up yet, still much closer to the ground - _too_ close. Athena stretched out her palm, but she knew she couldn't save him, knew that he was going too fast -

\- but then he saved _himself_, a blue fountain of energy pouring out beneath him just in time.

The Dragon Spirit roared to life once more, coalescing even as it broke Kensou's fall. It never stopped moving, either, carrying him high into the air as he let out a whoop of relief. Athena and Chin watched with their usual awe, appreciative but wary of the frightening beauty. After a brief circle, it came back to the ground and stopped about ten yards away from them, letting Kensou hop off before retreating within him. ("Thank you," he said solemnly; it did not reply.)

Once it was over, Chin reached out and smacked his pupil upside the head. "Are you insane!? What were you even _doing_⁇"

"It was just an experiment!" said Athena, cringing and rubbing her scalp. "Kensou's still trying to summon the Spirit, and he wanted help getting in trouble...so..."

"...so you levitated him. Over and over," Chin guessed, seething. "_Hoping_ you could catch him each time."

"I knew I could catch him," Athena scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Then Kensou joined them, breathing hard but grinning. "Could've fooled me," he laughed, giving Athena a playful shove.

"You did it, Sie! Congratulations!" she beamed (as Chin furrowed his brow).

"Oh, I didn't just do it. I _felt_ it," Sie said fervently. "I know the key, now. It isn't just fear, or desperation...it's a _need_. I knew I needed to summon the Spirit, or I would die. ...I mean, I knew I could die the whole time, of course - but when you dropped me so early, that's when it really sank in."

"That's great, Sie!" Athena gushed. She couldn't help but follow up with a triumphant smirk Chin's way. "There, you see, Master? We knew what we were doing - and it worked!"

"Is that so?" asked Chin, his eyes narrow and dark. "...and how _exactly_ did he know?"

Athena blinked. "...eh?"

"Why was Kensou so certain _you_, Athena, could've killed him at any point?"

"Well...um..."

"...how many times, Athena."

"...six, Master."

Kensou looked back and forth between them. "Six times doing what?" he asked, totally lost.

"Six times _erasing your memory_ to keep you in fear," Chin said grimly.

"...oh." Kensou paled a bit. "Uhm. ...wow."

"You go too far, Athena," Chin barked. "I don't care how much danger you _think_ you're in - you're now putting your teammates in _actual_ danger. And I won't have it."

"But Master - !"

"We're staying in Japan another week," he announced, looking at both of his pupils. "During that time, you two will _not_ work with each other without my supervision. I'll be staying at your side, Kensou, to make sure that takes place. And if _you_, Athena, can't control yourself, at the end of the week we will leave for the dojo...and you will _not_ be coming with us."

Now _Athena_ paled. "What⁇"

"Consider it a vacation," said Chin, his voice firm and cold. "You've wanted one for years anyway, if I recall." He turned to his other student. "Come on, Kensou. We're leaving."

"Uhm, okay," Sie mumbled, still a bit shaken up. He let Chin lead him away from her, putting some distance between them.

For a second, Athena thought she would cry...but something much worse happened first. It occurred to her that hey, she was already erasing memories here - why not just do it a couple more times? If Chin forgot her transgression, this all would be forgiven; if _Sie_ forgot her transgression, this would all go away...

...and then she fell to her knees, bursting into quiet sobs.

_What is HAPPENING to me...?_

* * *

About a thousand years later, Botan's shift ended. Her brief jolt of enthusiasm was long gone by now; working a job you hate for _no money_ tends to take it out of you. She slunk out of the shop, slunk onto the last train of the night, slunk into her crappy new apartment, and collapsed on her beautiful old couch. (The furniture she'd saved from the old place still seemed _so_ out-of-place in the new one.) She didn't want to think about goals or vengeance or anything else right now. She just wanted to sleep.

She did just that, for about an hour...and then she heard the doorbell ring.

_...who the hell?_ It was probably close to midnight at this point. Besides, Botan _never_ had visitors; she didn't even know anybody, except for her coworkers (who she wasn't too chummy with either). Grumbling, she struggled up from the couch and staggered to the door. Probably religious nuts or something; maybe she could give them that punch in the face she'd missed out on earlier.

Her face grim, Botan opened the door to find a man in a business suit.

_Ah, crap,_ she thought, not even bothering to hide her sigh.

"Good evening, miss," the man began, bowing. "Terribly sorry to disturb you. I'm from the Hanashita Corporation - "

"I don't want any," Botan cut off, already shutting the door.

"No, wait!" he responded, holding his hands in the air. "I'm not here to sell anything!"

"Then _what_?"

"Well, ah...we're going to be doing some construction in this area tomorrow," he explained. "We'll start around 7:30 or 8 a.m. I just wanted to warn you about it now, so it wouldn't disturb you too much."

She sighed again. _Great. And tomorrow's my day off._ "And you thought it wouldn't disturb me to tell me at this hour _because_...?"

"Oh, terribly sorry," the man said again, bowing. "But we didn't get much notice ourselves. It was a rush job."

"Right," Botan muttered, rolling her eyes. "Well as long as you rush _through_ it, too, I'll be fine."

"Of course, miss. We're very quick," he replied with a nod. "Hanashita's been in business for over thirty years, now. We only hire the best of the best!"

"Uh huh," Botan said tiredly. Here came the sales pitch.

"We're building a gazebo right now, but we do all _sorts_ of things," he went on. "Room remodels, room extensions, _new_ rooms, new _floors_ \- "

"This is an _apartment_," Botan pointed out.

"Oh, yes, but we've done those too!" the man smoothly transitioned. "Window and stair installation, balcony repair, fencing - "

"Look," she sighed, "if I agree to take a card and call you, will you give it to me and go?" (And she was gonna call them, alright. Once she had the energy to bitch at them properly.)

"O-oh, ah - yes! Yes, absolutely!" His face lighting up, the man reached into his shirt pocket and pulled a card from what looked like a stack of them (_"warning us about construction", my ass_). She took it wordlessly, stuck it in her own pocket, and started to shut the door - but he grabbed her hand first.

"Thank you so much, miss!" he said happily, shaking it profusely. "Make sure to tell all your friends!"

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered again. "Now get outta here."

Immediately, the man dropped Botan's hand and turned to leave. Then he stopped and blinked, looking uncertain. A couple seconds later, he turned around and shook Botan's hand again, his smile not quite as wide as before. "Have - have a good night, miss."

"Sure. You too. _Go._"

Another instant drop-and-turn, followed by another pause. From there he shook his head a bit and started to leave...but this time, Botan caught it. "Something the matter...?"

"_Oh!_ N-no, miss!" he assured her, laughing (but not looking back).

"Hey, hold on a second!" she said quickly. "...I, uh, I can't read the number on this thing."

Had he not listened to her, none of it would've happened. Had he followed his instincts, she would have forgotten the whole thing. Had he not been such a sycophant, he would've saved them so much pain.

But on that fateful day, he was. So he didn't. And he did.

He walked back to her, still looking uncertain. Botan was holding the card now, stretching her right hand out with it. He reached forward to take it with his own...but she grabbed it instead.

"_Stop._"

He did.

"...don't move."

He didn't, except to widen his eyes.

_...raise...your...left...hand._

He did so, his eyes - but not his neck - turning towards it in fear.

Botan nearly peed her pants.

"Holy shit," she whispered, staring. "It...it _can't_ be! ...t-turn around."

He did it - and, in doing so, moved his hand. Botan didn't have a tight grip on it, so it fell from her grasp. He immediately stopped, then yelped and whirled towards her, his eyes wide as saucers. He stayed like that for less than a second - but that was long enough for Botan, who grabbed his left hand as he tried to run away. With another quick order, the man was back in her grasp - literally and figuratively.

...she still had it. She still _had_ it. _She still had her powers._ The Spirit had ripped the Thread away from her mind, but it hadn't ripped away the _control_. The Threads must've just been a conduit, a way to reach out and touch people. All she'd really needed, all this time, had been a touch of her own.

A slow grin crawled across Botan's face. She went from zero to Evil Mode in three seconds flat, her old dreams of ascension coming back in spades. Meanwhile the construction worker stared at her in horror - or rather, stared _away_ from her, since he couldn't move. He was amazed he could still _breathe_, let alone use his eyes; apparently that didn't count as enough movement for the order to stop it.

"Well, well, well," Botan purred. "Isn't _this_ interesting."

He didn't, couldn't respond. He couldn't even scream. Instead, he did all he _could_ do: let out a pitiful squeal from his near-frozen throat.

"Quiet," she barked, scowling. "No more noise out of you." And he stopped.

Botan considered her next words carefully. Even at full strength, her powers had limitations, and this time they seemed to fail as soon as she lost contact with her victim. She needed to speak to this man as if she _had_ no powers - as if she'd never have control of him again. She needed to do to him what she had done to Hiroshi.

"You will never tell anyone about this," she said finally. "You'll never reveal it to anyone, in any way. If you do, you will die, slowly and painfully. And then my _friends_ will find _your_ friends, and your family and everyone you've ever loved, and they will murder them. And then they'll go right on doing what they were going to do anyway. In the end, you'll have done nothing but kill everyone that's close to you.

"If you understand this, nod your head."

He'd never nodded so vigorously in his life.

"Good. Off you go, then. Quietly now."

She let him loose, and the man shot off like a rocket, his racing footsteps the only sounds on the street.

She barely managed to close the door before the laughter began. The evil, maniacal laughter that seemed to take her whenever she scored even a _small_ victory. ...but this was no small victory, make no mistake. Sure, her "new" powers were temporary - but she could adapt. She always had. Sure, she didn't _actually_ have powerful friends...but she could make some, now. And she knew just where to start.

Botan was back.

* * *

End Notes

_...dun dun DUN_, lol. XD

So if I haven't smashed you over the head with it yet, this Athena is stronger than my others. Granted, they've never exactly been canon-compliant; I know that better than anyone. (No, really - I've _studied_ her now. Look for my findings on the Discord, if you're feeling masochistic.) But Botan Athena has always been my strongest by far...and it _still_ wasn't enough. So now she's gonna go into overdrive, and it's gonna be a beautiful thing.

Or is it? She may be totally OP now, but she's on the outs with her team at the moment. Will her power alone be enough to save her from Botan? Here's hoping you stick around to find out...and that I stick around to write it, lol. (Just kidding. ...I think. ;P)

See you next time!


	2. Setting The Trap

Notes

I'm as surprised as you are, folks.

I have _not_ been working on this chapter since I last posted. In fact, I didn't even start it till this week (long story), and I expected to take at least another week to finish. But sometimes you reach a stopping point before you thought you would, you know? So this chapter's shorter than the last one, but out earlier; I think all of us can appreciate that part :P

Before we start, a reminder: this story gets dark. It happens soon and it happens often, so get ready ;)

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2: Setting The Trap

Two days later, Athena woke up to a phone call.

"Ngghh... Hello?" she mumbled, barely opening her eyes. This left her rather startled when her manager answered. "O-oh. Hello, sir. ...huh? ...uhm...okay... Yeah, that's pretty good I guess... So what do they want? ...uh huh...uh huh...what _sort_ of promotion?" And then she scowled, finally coming to life.

"No. Can't do it. I already told you, _no new singing projects_." And she _had_ told him, shortly before her recent training binge. She wanted as few distractions as possible; her idol career would just have to wait for a while. "...yes, I know, fame and fortune and all that. But that's just not as important as getting stronger right now."

But then she blinked. "It _does_?" she asked, startled again; he'd just told her the project involved her psychic powers too. "How's that? ...well what _did_ they say? ...ugh, you should've _made them_ elaborate! I don't have _time_ for - "

She stopped, calmed herself and sighed.

"...I'm sorry, sir. I've just been so frazzled lately. If you think they'll use my powers responsibly, I'll talk to them. Just tell me where and when." She listened; nodded; tapped it into her phone. "...uh huh. Two hours. Yeah, I can make it. Thank you very much."

Athena clicked off and groaned, closing her eyes again. Yes, she could make it...but she didn't _want_ to, dammit. She was still in a bad mood from her fight with Master Chin, especially since he and Sie had barely talked to her since. All the guilt and worry had cost her some sleep, too; she wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to bed.

"...this better be worth it," she grumbled as she staggered to her feet.  
She had a feeling it would, though...or at least that it'd be _important_.

* * *

"Perfect! You really _are_ good at this."

Botan gave Asamiya's manager a sickly smile, sitting in his office and holding his hand from across the desk. Getting in to see him hadn't been easy - but it hadn't been that _hard_, either. From picking up a crisp new pantsuit to a few good handshakes at the agency, Botan had made all the right moves. Of course, the bigger test by far was yet to come...but she had a plan for that, too.

"Thank you, miss Botan," the manager whispered, all he was allowed to do off the phone.

"Huh? ...oh. You're welcome." Then she smirked. "...you can go back to feeling normal, now."

Instantly the color re-drained from his face. His eyes widened in horror; his grin became an open-mouthed gape. "...what have I done...?"

"Only what I told you," Botan chuckled. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"What do you want from her...?"

"_Power,_" she gloated. She couldn't resist. "You idiots don't know what you've got with her. A little full-audience telepathy? _Peanuts_ to what she can do. But don't worry, I'll show you...and everyone else."

"I know Athena. She is strong," he insisted. "You will never - "

"Oh, shut up," she muttered, and he did.

As he scowled, Botan took a quick look out the office windows. Satisfied no one was coming, she stood up and walked around her victim's desk, still gripping his hand. "All right, Mr. Manager...I'm going to let you go now. The second I do, you'll be back under your own power. You'll be able to say anything you want, and I won't be able to stop you. So I've got one more little job for you first.

"...have a fatal heart attack."

And he did.

The man fell to the floor, clutching at his chest with his free hand. He made several harsh, choking sounds - but _quietly_, obeying her first command to the end. Botan knelt next to him behind the desk, still holding him tight; she needed to make sure he couldn't recover. It didn't take long: in less than a minute he went into cardiac arrest, reducing his chances of survival to nil.

A moment later, Botan slipped out of the office unseen. By the time someone found him, she was already in the elevator. Botan chuckled to herself, could barely _stop_ chuckling as she left. She had adapted, alright; she had adapted big time. Her new reign of terror would be ruthless and cruel...but it would certainly be _effective_.

With any luck, it would also be short.

* * *

An hour and fifty-eight minutes later, Athena pulled into the Granbell hotel parking garage, wearing her business-casual black slacks and pink buttondown. Her days of disguises long gone, she used an illusion on herself, taking on the appearance of one of Japan's elite. Then she got out of her car and headed for the elevator, her destination the rooftop bar on the thirteenth floor. But once she could read the indicator, she saw it was already there.

Smirking, she looked around for bystanders, then closed her eyes. Using a quick burst of power, she warped up _into_ it, traveling a hundred and forty feet in the blink of an eye. One button press later, she had arrived.

The maitre D' startled a bit, but greeted her, and she gave him the name she'd been given. He escorted her outside, but simply pointed out her table instead of taking her to it. On her own, she started towards it...and immediately knew something was wrong.

There were two people at the table, both sitting with their backs to her. The first was a short-haired businesswoman, looking - well, a lot like _her_ at the moment. But the second one didn't seem to go with her at all; he wore a suit too, but had greasy, graying hair and a slumped posture. They were sitting awfully close together, almost like they were holding hands.

And her "radar" for evil was _screaming_ "Red Alert".

She could hardly believe it. Corporate shills were _usually_ evil, but not _this_ evil. It just got worse the closer she came, until by the time she reached them she was actually short of breath. Then she dropped the illusion, stepped around them...and understood.

The woman just looked startled; Athena _had_ snuck up on them, after all. Her face seemed a bit familiar...but it was the man's that troubled her. Far from surprised, he looked up at Athena with delight. A _dark_ delight. An _intense_ delight.

_He does NOT want me for my powers,_ she thought with a racing heart.

* * *

Botan had to stop herself from laughing outright.

_This is too easy_, she relished, barely keeping the smile on her face. Before Botan had even seen her, Asamiya had locked onto her partner...though "partner" might have been a strong choice of words. He was actually a homeless man, living on the streets in the red-light district. Botan had gone there, grabbed the sleaziest-looking men she could find, and asked them for the worst thing they'd ever done.

The fifth one had kidnapped a high school girl and eaten her.

So she'd promised him a victim, cleaned him up and brought him with her. It was working like a charm, as the moron wasn't even _trying_ to hide his intentions. Compared to him, Botan was an afterthought; Asamiya didn't even look at her, rightly staring at the man who so clearly wanted to hurt her.

_Back off a little,_ "said" Botan, her hand on his thigh. _Don't want to set her off on you..._

He shook his head a bit, easing to a smile as Botan began. "There you are, Ms. Asamiya! So good to finally meet you. I'm Ms. Takara, and this is Mr. Albrecht."

"N-nice to meet you," Athena stammered, sitting down - then popping right back up again to bow at them properly. _Yep, fake last name definitely threw her..._

"As you know, we represent Hanashita Incorporated," Botan went on. "Our time's short, so I'd like to get right to the point. Is that okay...?"

"Definitely," said Athena, still staring at the man as she retook her seat.

* * *

Okay, there was _no way_ this guy was German. His face was haggard and worn, but still clearly Japanese. And his sudden coolness hadn't done a thing to calm her, either. Even with all her new power, Athena was still pretty spooked.

"Our company," Ms. Tanaka cut through her thoughts, "is currently running a 'Building Bridges' campaign. It's a program designed to help young children with school."

"Children, huh...?" said Athena, finally turning to the woman.

"Yes. We want to give the disadvantaged and mentally challenged access to better schools. But to do that we need community help, not to mention donations. That's where you come in."

"How's that?" Athena asked, side-eyeing the man as he snuck a peek at her chest.

"We want to make a commercial advertisement for the campaign. We'd like for you to star in it and sing some background music for it. We've already written the song for you - though you'll have final say over the lyrics, of course. As for your role, we'd like you to give a short speech, then build an _actual_ bridge."

Athena nodded...then blinked. "...wait. _...what?_"

"There's a library near downtown that has two wings," Ms. Tanaka explained. "They're connected by a small walkway that recently suffered structural damage. The city's building a replacement, and we've arranged for them to build most of it on the ground. Once it's completed, we'd like you to use your powers to lift it into place."

"Goodness," Athena mumbled. "How big is it?"

"Eight meters high, four meters wide, and fifteen meters across."

* * *

She knew it was a tall order. A platform that size was well out of Asamiya's range...or at least, it had been two months ago. She'd probably trained up a bit since then; the question was, how _much_. So now Botan waited, expecting her to start asking questions or haggling over the size -

"Okay, I can do that."

_...shit._

"Wonderful," Botan lied, _just_ keeping her composure. No questions, no haggling, no hesitation; the girl had gone full fruit fly. _Time for Plan B..._

"Now the city does have some safety concerns," she told her. (The city knew nothing about this; the bridge wasn't even damaged.) "They want to know what could happen if you get distracted."

Asamiya's brow furrowed. "Distracted how...?"

"Oh, you know - a nearby car accident, somebody rushing the stage, that sort of thing. Would that kind of shock affect your powers at all?"

This one gave her pause. She looked solemn, maybe even worried...but shook her head. "No. I'd be ready."

"Hmm," murmured Botan, looking pensive - but feeling hope. "But if you _did_ lose control, and the bridge started to fall? Would you be able to catch it?"

"...I _think_ so," said Asamiya, shifting in her seat.

_Bingo,_ Botan thought gleefully.

And then she pressed the button.

* * *

The next thing Athena knew, she was almost deaf.

An explosion - at _least_ one, probably several - had just gone off in the building. They were right underneath her - but off to side, close to the edge; she and her companions were in the middle of the restaurant. Both the blast and an awful rumbling slammed into her ears, nearly popping the drums.

Then the rumbling turned into _crumbling_.

The supports for part of the bar gave way. She was still safe in the middle, but the wooden platform - _all_ of it - started to fall. Screaming, the few patrons there managed to scramble to safety - but the structure kept cracking, seeming to go in slow motion. And then it was off, hurtling towards the streets below at top speed.

She knew what she had to do. She'd just been _talking_ about it, even. Athena warped from her seat to the rooftop's edge, reached down with her hand - and pulled up with her mind. Using a _massive_ burst of power, she slowed it to a halt, stopping it at the ninth floor.

At the same time, she yelped and grimaced in pain. The move had taken more out of her than she'd thought it would. Gritting her teeth, she carefully lowered the platform, getting it down to the sixth floor -

"_Help‼_"

She couldn't help it. The reflex was just too strong. Athena whipped around in shock - and found Mr. Albrecht _raping his partner_, right in the middle of everything.

* * *

He wasn't, of course.

The explosives she'd made the guard plant had worked wonders. They'd taken out just the right supports to keep her safe, while the platform - eight meters high, four meters wide, and fifteen meters across - collapsed. She'd watched Asamiya catch it, and true to her word, she managed it without too much of an effort.

Now Botan needed a distraction.

Luckily, she had one in the form of her partner, who would've screwed her in public even if all she did was _ask_. Accepting a little groping for the greater good, she made quite a show of panicking and looking distraught. A few alert patrons rushed forward to save her - but they weren't the ones she was watching.

Asamiya turned towards her, her eyes open wide.

They got wider, and for a split second, she froze.

And then they widened into saucers.

* * *

Athena whipped back, looked down. It was almost gone. Frantic, she threw her hands out and _seized_, putting more power into it than anything she'd ever done.

The platform stopped, all at once, just twelve feet from the ground.

At the same time, she screamed and fell to her knees.

She nearly blacked out - but she couldn't. Not until the job was done. Still screaming with the effort, she forced the platform to gently ease down to the ground; it landed with plenty of noise, but very little damage.

And then she collapsed, holding her head and gasping for air.

Seemingly _everyone_ rushed towards her, relieved but concerned. Amazingly, Ms. Tanaka got to her first, her jacket still open and her shirt half-undone. "Oh my goodness! Ms. Asamiya, are you okay⁇"

"...uugghh," Athena groaned; she was still seeing stars. "I don't..._no_, I'm not. ...but I will be. I think."

"Is there anything we can do...?"

"Not really," she answered, shaking her head. "I just need to get some rest."

The woman smiled at her, looking on the verge of tears. "You used all your strength to save them, didn't you? Ms. Asamiya, you are _amazing_."

"Just doing my duty," the girl replied, smiling back. ...then she tried to sit up, and it turned back into a grimace.

"Here, let me help you," said Ms. Tanaka.

And she took her hand.

* * *

_Not yet..._

The two struggled to their feet, the crowd beginning to applaud.

_...not yet..._

Grinning, she hugged her, turning her face away from the crowd.

_...not...yet...!_

Asamiya chuckled, leaned against her - and relaxed.

And that's when she hit her.

* * *

Her head jerked up. Her pupils turned into points.

_...no...no..._

The power hit her all at once, actually _stronger_ than before.

_nonononononononononono_

She couldn't block it, couldn't fight it. She had nothing left.

_Nooo‼ NOOO‼_

It seared through her brain, directly into her core.

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—_

_**Don't move. Don't speak. Don't use your powers.**_

And she knew that the Puppetmaster had taken her once more.

* * *

End Notes

...why do I always have to be so damn _dramatic_? ;P

There may be more holes than usual here, as far as technical details and such. I just couldn't find the information I needed quickly...and I didn't want to throw off my groove, lol. It's the first writing groove I've had in a long, long time :) So if you spot any problems, lemme know in a PM...or a review, if you're feeling cheeky.

And speaking of PMs and reviews - hey there, New Zealand! Hope you enjoyed this one, since you're 90% of this fic's audience XD Haven't talked to you about it yet, though, so feel free to drop me a line any time...!

See you next update!


	3. Penance

Notes

...I almost didn't post this.

I was gonna go easy on Athena this time. Honest! But then I remembered an old concept that's always stuck with me...something only Botan could do, at least in KOF Land. I'm a jackass - I mean, _horror writer_ \- so of course I had to pounce on it. (Want to know about it ahead of time? Go look up ilovebees...)

As usual, the more I wrote, the darker it got. Eventually I wasn't even sure this fit Botan's character. But, after some thinking, I decided it did. She's always been a little twisted, after all. ;) So here's hoping she and I don't scare you off today.

Trigger warnings if you want 'em: gbegher zvaqoernx  
Go to rot13._com (take out the underscore) to decode 'em.

Hope you enjoy...!

* * *

Chapter 3: Penance

_No screaming. No crying. No looking panicked..._

Botan was taking no chances, feeding her new acquisition all the directions she could. Make no mistake, this was _not_ over; she still had to get back to the car with her. To do that, she'd have to leave the restaurant without arousing suspicion. She had a plan for that too, of course...if Asamiya didn't screw it up.

_...alright. Now pull back, but let me take your hands._

She did just that, only the fear in her eyes showing there might be something wrong. Sadly, no one could see them.

_Good. Now, in your normal voice, repeat after me..._

"Thank you, Ms. Tanaka," Asamiya found herself saying. "I'm afraid I'll need to cancel our meeting. Can you help me downstairs?"

"Of course, of course! I understand," Botan "soothed". She draped the girl's arm around her neck, telling her to lean against her as they walked. (She would've needed to anyway.)

"B-but Athena-_chan_! What about the police⁇" some annoying little pissant in the crowd piped up.

"I'll talk to them in the lobby," Asamiya assured him.

With that they were off, moving carefully to the elevator as the crowd applauded again. Botan had her captive ham it up on the way, giving the people smiles, nods and cute little waves. It looked like they would make it to the elevator without incident...but Botan knew better.

"Hey‼ Where are you going!?"

All eyes turned towards a shocked "Mr. Albrecht", shouting at them from the back of the restaurant. Three bystanders were holding him by the arms, keeping him still for the authorities. Botan had promised to vouch for the man, to call the attack a misunderstanding and let him leave with them.

Instead she fixed him with a disgusted glare.

"Leaving you to your fate, Albrecht," she snapped. "...I always knew you were a pervert."

"Wha-!? But - but we had a deal!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Botan, looking him dead in the eye.

The man's face twisted into a scowl. "You bitch‼ You _witch_‼" he cried, struggling and thrashing in the mens' arms. "_She's_ the one that did this! _She made me - _"

But that was as far as he got, as one of the men covered his mouth while the three of them wrestled him to the floor.

By then Botan had turned away from him, taking Asamiya to the elevator. Nobody was watching them anymore; the few stray glances tossed their way saw nothing suspicious. They just saw Ms. Tanaka pressing the button, then helping Athena-_chan_ inside. They didn't notice the trembling in Asamiya's shoulders, the now-dull expression on her face.

The doors closed. The elevator started going down. Gripping Asamiya's right hand with her left, Botan made sure the cameras were still down, then used her free hand to get some clear tape out of her pocket. The girl watched in horror as she peeled off a long strip with her teeth, then wound it around their wrists, sealing her fate almost invisibly.

With that done, she pocketed the tape, turned toward Asamiya and smiled. "...alright. _Now_ you can talk."

"...h-h-h...h-h-h-h-h-"

"No blubbering. _Normal_ talk," said Botan, rolling her eyes.

"...how are you doing this...?"

"Easy," she chuckled. "Turns out your wannabe-boyfriend's pet demon can make mistakes, too. It only took away my Thread; I still have my _control_. As soon as I touch you, I _own_ you. Simple as that."

"...it said you couldn't hurt us...said you couldn't come near us...!"

"Yeah, that one threw me a little too," Botan admitted. "Guess even _that_ thing has its limits. Or maybe I'll drop dead later? ...meh, you'd already run into me anyway."

"...what are you going to do with me...?"

"Oh, I'm _so_ glad you asked." She grinned at her captive, looked right into her eyes. "Your little lapdog ever tell you my plans for you before?"

"...yes..."

"It's gonna be _so_ much worse than that."

The trembling resumed.

At that point, the elevator stopped at the lobby. The door opened just in time to show police entering the builing, getting there faster than Botan had anticipated. Smoothly, she led Asamiya out of the lift and turned right, pretending they hadn't seen them. They quickly ducked out of sight, then waited for the cops to leave (most in the elevator, the rest dashing up the stairs) before they moved on.

No one paid attention as the two followed them to the stairwell. They went into, but then out of it to emerge in a small alley, hidden away between the main street and the next. The car Botan had stolen earlier was still parked there, still alone.

As she dragged Asamiya towards it, her heart started to pound. Had she done it? Had she just _kidnapped_ a _celebrity_, outsmarted an uber-psychic? She got in on the passenger's side and shifted into the driver's, telling Asamiya to sit tight beside her. Then she got behind the wheel, started the car and looked around.

No police. No blockades. No traffic jams in front of her.

Nothing to stop her.

She had won.

It took her again, a low, rumbling sound that bubbled up through her throat. On and on it went, louder and louder, until finally it burst from her mouth with a harsh, braying sound. Her captive turned and stared at her with wide, glistening eyes; then she bent her head and closed them, trying to let out tears that would not come.

She was still at it when Botan looked at her again. She stopped almost immediately, giving Asamiya a manic grin. "Awww, what's the matter, Athena-_chan_? Do you wanna cry?"

Asamiya nodded miserably.

"Hmm...no, I don't think so. How about you give me a nice big _smile_ instead?"

Her head crept to her right. Her eyes locked onto her captor's. And her lips curled into a rictus grin.

"_There_ we go," Botan laughed. This was better than sex. "...alright, that should be all I need for awhile. Now sleep."

And she did.

* * *

_...wake up, Asamiya._

The command cut through the fog like razor wire (though it didn't actually _hurt_). Athena's head snapped up, her eyes snapping open. She looked around to find herself in a tiny apartment, stuffed to the brim with posh furniture and paintings. She looked to her left to find herself in the corner of the room, sitting against both backs of a red velvet chaise.

Then she looked to her right to find Botan, sitting beside her with their wrists still taped together.

"...oh, _god_," she moaned, paling. _It wasn't a dream..._

"Not yet," Botan chuckled. "But give it some time."

Athena tried to keep calm, tried to take stock of the situation. She was better off now, at least, than at the hotel, where she had truly been Botan's puppet. She still couldn't stand up; she still couldn't control her right arm. But other than that she was free as a bird, able to shift and get comfortable and revel in her body _listening_ to her again.

Her powers still weren't listening, of course. But she could _feel_ them, now; she had regained her strength, or some of it. If she could just break through to it, she could _end_ this. Keeping her eyes on Botan, she worked furiously behind them, trying with all her might to fight back -

"Uh-uh. I know that look," said Botan, her own eyes narrow. "You can't fight it, so don't even try. Don't even _try_ to try."

And she couldn't.

"...dammit," Athena cursed, looking down with a grimace. Resisting, the _idea_ of it, seemed incomprehensible now. _She's too good at this..._

Her captor chuckled again. "Got some of your mad back, do you? Good. Honestly, you were _pathetic_ back there."

"...you won't get away with this," Athena looked up at her and seethed.

"Get away with _what_? You don't even know what I'm gonna do!" Botan laughed. "What if I just brought you here to torture you to death, huh? Pretty sure I could get away with _that_."

"But you didn't, did you?"

"No, I didn't. I've got _much_ better uses for you than that," she assured her. "...got some questions too, though. That's why I had to wake you up. Sorry 'bout that."

Athena just rolled her eyes.

"Now then." Botan crossed her legs, held her right hand against her cheek. "You've gotten a lot stronger since last time, huh? And you were strong to begin with, too. ...been in training pretty much ever since then, haven't you...?"

A silent scowl.

"...ugh. Answer the question."

"Yes."

"Good girl. Answer as soon as I ask from now on, got it?" Athena closed her eyes; she could already _feel_ that she would. "So how much stronger are you?"

Athena blinked. "...in what way?"

"Let's cut to the chase." Botan's smile became greedy. "How's your telepathy...?"

"O-oh." Athena swallowed. "Well, I'm not a _lot_ stronger there, actually - "

"Bullshit. Don't lie to me."

"But its true!" she insisted. "The Master helped me with most of my powers, but he doesn't know much about that one. There was only so much he could do, and I haven't learned a lot on my own yet."

"_Ugh._ ...alright...doesn't matter, I think. Pretty sure what you could do before was good enough. ...but let's confirm."

Now Athena cringed.

"You can link your mind to other peoples'," Botan began. "You can send messages to them silently, have them send messages to you. Your range for it is about the size of Osaka. Right so far?"

"Yes..." said Athena, closing her eyes.

"You can see into a person's thoughts. You can _read_ them, read their memories. You can change them...erase them. Bury them deep in the subconscious. Also right?"

"_...yes..._" said Athena, shaking her head back and forth.

"You can access a person's _psyche_. Change how they think in the first place. Change their values...their beliefs...damn near anything about them. You can turn the very _soul_ into your plaything. Am I right⁇"

Her head snapped up. A loophole! "Well, I'm not sure they're really _souls_ \- "

"Don't change the subject," Botan cut off with a grin. "Every psyche has a core. Call it what you want. Whatever it is, it's what makes a person who they are...and you can change even _that_. _Right⁇_"

"...yes," said Athena, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Hmhmhm. _Good._" Botan leaned forward, actually leering. "_That's_ what I'm going to do, Asamiya. ...or rather, what _you're_ \- "

And Athena punched her in the face.

She had gotten too close, _just_ in range of her free arm. She hit her with a perfect cross, shattering her nose. Botan yelped and pulled back - and Athena dove to the floor, dragging her with her. Botan's head went down hard, buying Athena time; she used it to kick at their arms, to paw at their wrists, to grab hold of the loop of tape and _pull_ -

_Stop‼_

She did.

"Don't...move."

She didn't.

"...god _dammit_," Botan swore, rubbing her head as she sat up. "You _stupid bitch_. I think you gave me a concussion! _...fix it._"

She did.

"_And_ the nose."

She did that, too.

Botan sighed in relief, holding her face in her palm. She shook her head a bit to clear it...then looked at Athena and _scowled_. "So you wanna play it rough, huh? Alright. _Let's play._"

_...uh oh._

"I was gonna take _away_ your mad, take away your sadness. I wanted to see how you'd react to your orders without them. But now? ...now we're doing things a _different_ way."

Athena pleaded with her eyes, tried desperately to move her throat -

\- until Botan ordered her to sleep, and she did.

* * *

"_Wake_ up, bitch."

This time she was _not_ better off.

Asamiya woke up in a heavy wooden chair, backed up against the side wall in front of the chaise. She was freer, in a way; aside from her powers, she had full reign of mind and body. But now she was _physically_ bound instead, strapped to the chair by her legs, arms and chest. Even her wrists were tied to the armrests - no small feat, considering her captor's left was _in_ the knot with her right.

She also had a knotted gag wrapped around her mouth.  
Botan wouldn't need her to talk anymore.

"Feels different this way, doesn't it?" she said grimly. Asamiya turned to find her lying on the chaise, her arm stretched out but her expression stone-cold. "You're probably wondering why I did it. Well apparently, you got back a whole _lot_ of mad. Not to mention _energy_, and that good ol' 'fighting spirit'. I could make you forget all that too, but fuck you. I'm gonna let you work it out on your own.

"That's why you're tied down instead. It'll let you thrash around a bit. As for the gag...you're gonna need something to bite down on."

Asamiya blinked.

"We're about to play a little game," Botan purred. "In a moment, I'm going to give you a trigger. Every time you meet the condition, you'll react. You'll feel a little spike of _pain_, right here." (She tapped her own forehead with her free hand.) "The harder you set it off, the harder it'll hit. Every time you do, the baseline'll get a little worse.

"And the trigger...is thinking bad thoughts about me."

Asamiya furrowed her brow.

"_Bad thoughts_, Asamiya. Fear, anger, hate. _Pity._ If you think anything like that about me, you'll pay the price. You'll only _stop_ paying when you stop thinking those thoughts. I figure that'll take the fight out of you pretty quick...but if it takes longer, I'll enjoy that too."

Now Asamiya paled.

"Alright, let's give it a test run, shall we?" Botan laid her right hand on her cheek; she put on a sickly smile.

"...I killed your manager today."

"Mmphf!? _...MMPHF!_"

The girl's whole face clenched, her whole body going rigid. The surprise of the jolt seemed to make it that much worse. When it was over, she looked at her captor with fear in her eyes...so it hit her again. And then _again_, as she moved on to a hateful scowl.

"Oop! Better control yourself," Botan laughed. "Don't want to spiral out already..."

For a moment, it seemed as if she'd do just that. Asamiya was hit with jolt after jolt, jerking in her bonds and yelping into her gag. Finally she managed to refocus her thoughts, breathing hard through her nose as her eyes darted back and forth.

"_There_ we go," said Botan, grinning like a loon. "You see, Asamiya? You're learning already."

Another scowl, another yelp, and another wild-eyed stare.

"All right, so here's the plan," Botan cheerfully moved on. "I shouldn't need allies this time. You're basically a one-woman army. But I'm guessing Kensou's _spirit animal_ could take you on. Right?"

Fiercely, Asamiya nodded. (She got another jolt for her trouble.)

"I'd _like_ to take him out and be done with it - but I don't know what _it_ can do. If you attack him, it might come out itself and kill you. ...or _save_ you," Botan added, chuckling. "Even messing with the kid's head too much might set it off.

"...so we're gonna do this _subtle_."

Asamiya's brow furrowed again.

"Oh, don't worry. You're still going to ruin your mind. You're just not gonna turn 'evil' yet, that's all. Or become a zombie, or even recreate this bond. All I want right now...is to be _friends_."

This time she managed to growl _through_ the jolt.

"When I say 'Go', you're going to use your powers on yourself. You'll tap into your psyche and change what you think of me. You'll make yourself see me as a wonderful person, someone beautiful and smart and just plain fun to talk to. You'll make yourself think I've been right all along, and anything I tell you must be right too. You'll make yourself loyal to me with every fiber of your being. ...then you'll make yourself forget you did it, along with everything else that's happened since I caught you."

With each new sentence, Botan re-triggered Asamiya. By the end she was spiraling again, convulsing and crying out over and over. Yet _somehow_ she managed to calm back down, to take her thoughts off her enemy and focus on gods-knew what.

...for three seconds.

"Alright, I think that should cover it. Ready?"

Asamiya's eyes went wide.

"3..."

She looked at Botan in horror, then yelped in pain again.

"2..."

She threw herself at her bonds, fearing not Botan but her fate.

"_1..._"

She thrashed, she _screamed_, she shook her head back and forth -

"...just kidding."

The girl collapsed in her chair, groaning and trembling in relief. Then she gave Botan a furious glare. "Mmphh mmm _phmm_!? _...MMPHH‼_"

"Don't you remember, Asamiya?" Botan answered, smirking. "All this anger, all this energy - you've gotta work it _out_. It could give you the strength to break free while you're using your powers. ...and even if it can't, I just wanna see you hurt.

"So let's talk about what I'll have you do _next_."

This time, Asamiya had restrained herself. She'd just sat and listened to Botan's words, seeming to focus on the _content_ instead of the rage. But when she heard the last sentence, she immediately went pale. Then she closed her eyes and started humming to herself, clearly trying to block out what was in store for her.

Botan could've shut her up...but she wanted to _hear_ her hurt, too.

"First thing's first - we'll need information," she shouted over the din. "We've gotta figure out how to _fight_ that thing. And the best source, maybe the _only_ source, is Kensou.

"So you two are about to get a whole lot friendlier."

"...nnn..."

"You're gonna buddy up with Kensou. Get him to open up to you. You'll have him tell you what he knows, help him figure out what he doesn't. And when he does a good job...you're going to reward him."

"...nnngh...ghhkk..."

"You'll give him a flirty hug here, a peck on the cheek there. The more dirt he gives us, the more you'll give him back. What he won't realize is you're touching him _mentally_, too. Not enough to wake the dragon - just to keep him in line."

"...mmphh!"

"Soon enough you'll be his _girlfriend_. Aww, won't it be cute? You'll start dating, cuddling, kissing - the whole nine yards. You might even say you're in _love_, even though you'll really hate his guts."

"Mmphh! ...mmphh‼"

"And of _course_ you're gonna fuck him. That's just a given."

"_NNNNNNNNNGGHHHH‼_"

"You'll probably save that, though, for the night of the fight. ...because you _will_ fight, Asamiya. We _will_ learn how beat that thing. When we do, you're going to distract him like no one else can...and _then_ you'll take him out.

"...and then you'll give him to _me_."

"_MMMMPHHHH‼_ ...hn...nn hn hn hn..."

"It's gonna be _way_ worse for him. _Ten times_ what you're getting now. I didn't even _want_ to hurt _you_ \- much - until you punched me in the face. But that bastard ruined my entire life...so I'm going to ruin his.

"And when I'm done...I'll have _you_ be the one to end it."

"MMPHH‼ _MMPHH‼_ ...nnnNNN_NNN__**NNNHHHHHHHHHHHH—**_"

Botan giggled as Asamiya snapped, falling into a spiral of rage and pain. _THAT'S more like it,_ she said mentally (to bypass the screaming). _That should give you enough fuel to burn out on. Once you do, use your telepathy to tell me it's done._

_Until then...I think I'll take a little nap._

She was serious, too. She'd set a pillow on the chaise before waking her captive; now she put it in the corner, scooting in and getting cozy. _Goodnight, Asamiya. Hope you don't take TOO long. And don't worry - you can make all the noise you like. ...I don't mind._

With that, Botan snuggled up and drifted off, lulled to sleep by the sound of her enemy's screams.

* * *

End Notes

So. ...yeah. Taken a bit of a turn, haven't we?

So here's the thing: Botan doesn't get hit a lot. She can't, no one can touch her (unless they take her by surprise). So when she does, it kinda sets her off, as you might've noticed. I think I explained that in the text, but I had to be sure; I want it clear that there's a _reason_ for her despicable behavior.

As for _my_ reason, I really couldn't tell you. XP Like I said, the idea is ripped wholesale from an old Halo ARG; search for Cupid's Knife if you want to look into it. But why'd I take that idea, make it _worse_, and do it to my bae? ...no idea, lol. I should prolly be posting this from an asylum. ^^;;

Good news is, next update'll be a _lot_ lighter than this. Bad news is, it may take a while; I've been neglecting certain _other_ projects, hehe. ;) But there's still a lot more to this story, and I'll do my best to see it through.

See you next update!

* * *

_...it's done._

Botan woke up slowly. Seemed out of sorts. She didn't care. Didn't care at all anymore.

"Good grief...how long have I been out?" Looked at the clock. Eyes went wide. "_Four hours⁇_ ...you _did_ have a lot of fight left!"

She didn't respond. Just kept trying not to think.

"Don't seem to now, though," Botan said and sat up. "Drenched in sweat...face full of tears... Looks like you're ready."

She could imagine. Couldn't feel though. Didn't feel anymore either.

"By the way, I think I've changed my mind. ...I want to kill Kensou myself."

Athena looked at her tiredly.

"Perfect," Botan chuckled. "Go."


	4. Second Thoughts

Notes

Looks like _all_ the rarer writers are updating lately. :D

This isn't a very _big_ update, mind you. It's another case of me writing a chapter, stumbling on a good stopping point halfway through, and saying "ah screw it, let's do this". :P Not a lot of action this time, though; just a good chunk of infodump, done in what I hope is an entertaining fashion. Feel free to yell at me if it's not, lol.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4: Second Thoughts

Athena went home that night feeling very, _very_ confused.

She still didn't know what happened. She remembered stopping the falling platform, collapsing to the ground...then nothing. A total blank, lasting for hours and hours. She'd finally woken up in a chair in an unfamiliar apartment, drenched in sweat with both wrists and ankles rubbed raw.

She knew immediately she'd been bound, and immediately asked why. Apparently after passing out, she'd had some psychic equivalent of _night terrors_. She didn't know what she'd done, exactly - but whatever it was, tying her down to the chair had been the safest course of action. She was just lucky she'd come out of it fairly soon.

...the story was full of holes, really, she thought as she parked her car and entered her building. Since when did she have "terrors"? Why hadn't they put her in the hospital? And how had she made it to the apartment, anyway? Had the terrors conveniently waited to start until then? If not, how had she been restrained beforehand?

No, the explanation didn't _seem_ to make much sense. But, she told herself as she rode the elevator upstairs, she wasn't going to let it bother her. Because the one thing she _did_ know, the thing she was clinging to right now, was that her new _sensei_ had told her not to worry about it.

And she and her new _sensei_ were friends.

It was so _clear_ to her now, Athena marveled as she walked to her room and opened her door. She'd woken up with a whole new outlook on Botan, and the talk they'd had afterwards had solidified it. Botan wasn't actually _bad_; she was just willing to do what she needed to to get what she wanted. And what she wanted was what _Athena_ wanted: an era of peace and prosperity for all. Better yet, she actually had a plan to _get_ it. She hadn't gone into all the details yet...but with Athena's help, she promised she could make it happen.

The girl laughed as she tossed aside her things, started to kick off her clothes. All this time, she'd been so frightened of Botan - when really, they'd been _allies_. That's all she'd been trying to "capture" her for: to make her open her mind and _listen_. Botan realized she could come off as ruthless or harsh, so she'd needed to subdue Athena long enough to explain herself. Now that she had, Athena could see that in the end, Botan knew best.

Granted, that story had holes too, she mused as she put on her pajamas. Botan had seemed more than "ruthless" the day they'd met, and according to Kensou she'd wanted to _ruin_ her mind more than open it. Today's plan seemed awfully risky, too. What if the platform hadn't fallen? How would Botan have gotten past her defenses then? She _claimed_ she hadn't set off the bombs...or killed her manager, for that matter (the agency had already called with the news). But Athena still had her doubts.

...but to be honest, she thought as she brushed her teeth, she wasn't sure she cared. If Botan _had_ done those things, they were a lot more than "harsh" - but in the end, Botan knew best. Athena was _sure_ Kensou was lying, sure her memory had been faulty. She could feel it in her heart, feel it in her very soul...and, most importantly, she knew it logically.

Botan had told her how her powers had changed. She'd told her that when she let go of her hand, all of her influence would vanish. Athena's mind would close back up again, and she'd have nothing to go on but Botan's words. If she _still_ didn't hate her, she could be sure she wasn't brainwashed. She could be sure she had merely seen the light.

Then she did. And she didn't. So she was sure.

She turned off the lights; she laid down on her bed. She set her phone to silent (except for the alarm). She curled up under the covers, snuggled into her pillow and smiled.

And then she did her very last chore for the day.

_...Asamiya?_

_Yes, Master Botan._

_Hey, it works! Not too shabby, girl._

_Hehe, thanks._

_So how're you feeling?_

_Pretty tired. Still a little hazy. ...but excited._

_Heh, me too. Tomorrow's a big day, for sure. You up for it?_

_Absolutely. I know I can make you proud._

_...blech, don't say it like THAT. Just do your best, okay?_

_Hehehe...okay, okay._

_Okay. Now, do what we talked about, then get some rest. Contact me again in the morning._

_Yes, Master Botan._

And then she gave her her memories.

All of them. Everything that had happened since the moment she'd left. Every deed she had done, every sight she had seen...every single little thought that had gone through her head. She still kept them for herself, of course - but she let Botan have them, too. Not just because it would help with the plan, but because her new _sensei_ had asked her to.

And she and her new _sensei_ were friends.

* * *

It took Asamiya a good while to finish the transfer. When she did, Botan thanked her, wished her good night, and cut off the connection.

And then the hunt began.

"C'mon..._c'mon_," she muttered, closing her eyes as she saw through Asamiya's. It was a little like dreaming; she was seeing things someone else had done, but from her own perspective. At least she could _recall_ them better than a dream - but there was a lot to recall. So now she stood there, passing frantic, scanning through her enemy's most private thoughts not with triumph but with fear.

She _really_ shouldn't have done it this way.

This was nothing like how she'd controlled people before. It had always been so simple: do this, forget I made you do it, done. And it wasn't like she couldn't have had that; Asamiya could've reproduced most, if not _all_, of her powers. ...but she _hadn't_ done that. She'd gone with this risky, ridiculous, "be friends with me" plan instead. _Why⁇_

...well, she knew why, to be honest. For one thing, she wanted to gauge the girl's personality. She needed to know what to add and remove for the second phase of her plan. For another, she wanted her to have some autonomy. Otherwise she'd have to monitor her every move, and doing that with Kensou had bored her to tears.

And most importantly, though she'd never admit it...Botan wanted a friend.

Oh, she _had_ friends, in a sense. Her coworkers at Starbucks; the cashiers at her favorite shops. But they weren't interesting, they weren't powerful. They were barely _people_. Just big lumps of human clay, going through the motions with no dreams or ambition. Botan dreamed of _controlling the world_, dammit. Why would she want to be friends with people like that?

But Asamiya was different. She was interesting as hell, and she was more powerful than anyone. She had lots of ambition, too, and plenty of dreams. ...they were just _stupid_ ones, that's all. Tournament victories, platinum records, love - that kind of crap. And, worst of all, saving the world. Peace and prosperity for all.

...she didn't _really_ give a damn about that, of course. She just had to _pretend_ she did to get Asamiya to join her. Of course, she could've made _her_ not care about it either - but frankly, she didn't know how good an actress she was. The less normal Asamiya seemed, the more likely she'd blow her cover, at which point Kensou would unleash the Dragon and ruin everything forever.

So she had done this nonsense instead...and she was already regretting it. Why, _why_ had she given her _this_ much autonomy⁇ If Asamiya could think for herself, she could cover some scary topics. Maybe she'd realize she'd been had; maybe she'd realize she could fight. Maybe she'd realize she could tie Botan's brain in knots and blast the rest of her body to atoms.

Hence, the memory transfer.

She doubted she'd do it often. Maybe not ever again. But right now, Botan needed peace of mind more than she needed her enemy's freedom. So far, Asamiya had passed Test 1: contacting her without killing her immediately. Now, for Test 2, she'd have to review the girl's memories. ...hours and hours of them.

This _also_ took a good while.

Finally, she made her conclusion: Asamiya was clean. Going by the memories she'd sent, she'd barely even been suspicious. And when she _had_ been suspicious, she had written it off, believing above all else that she could trust her new _sensei_. (Botan had had to laugh at that one. She'd told her she would make her call her Master...) Even better, there were no serious gaps, no bits that seemed to be edited. These were almost certainly Asamiya's genuine thoughts...and every last one of them was clean.

"_Oh_ thank god," Botan sighed, falling back on her chaise in relief. At first she just let the feeling wash over her...but then she realized what it meant. She had done it again. She had done it again! Even with _this_ screwball plan, she had done it again‼

This time her laughter was more giddy than evil, as the possibilities danced through her head. Who knew what the days ahead held in store now? Would Asamiya succeed quickly, or would Kensou have to suffer? Could she take on the world directly, or would she have to do some sneaking? Would Botan have to put her back under her thumb...or would they become BFFs⁇

...actually, that one was pretty much clinched, she realized with a grin. Asamiya hadn't just given her peace of mind; she'd given her _information_. All the likes, all the dislikes, all the _secrets_ she'd thought about while she had made her way home. Now Botan knew some of her favorite things, some of her biggest vulnerabilities...and _exactly_ how she felt about one Sie Kensou.

_Ohhh, this is gonna be GOOD,_ she thought, as her own nightly routine - scheming - began.

* * *

End Notes

There's a small plot hole in this chapter, hehe. Hit me up in PM if you find it :D _[Edit 8-14: Fixed! ...I think. Lemme know if you beg to differ.]_

Alright, guys and gals. There's another reason I went ahead and put this out: this fic is going on a mini-hiatus. I'm still going to finish it, but it may be a while till the next update. (...yeah, okay, a _longer_ while. :P) All those projects from last time have still gone neglected, and now I have some _new_ ideas I'm excited for too. Something's gotta give, lol...but don't worry. It won't be this story forever.

See you next time!

* * *

**1/31/20 Update:** Welp, it doesn't look like I'll be getting back to this after all. (I knew I shouldn't have posted it without a buffer...) I am truly sorry for abandoning this story; anyone who knows me knows I _hate_ deadfics. It's a shame, too - I already had the storyline completely mapped out.

...to that end, what follows is a summary of what _would've_ happened next. I know it's a weird way to close out a fic, but I wanted to give you guys _some_ closure in case you actually got invested in this thing. It's the least I can do...and, sadly, it's also the _best_ I can do. Again, my apologies.

Alright. Let's begin.

The morning after Chapter 4, Botan drops the bombshell on Athena that they're gonna have to neutralize the Dragon Spirit. Athena hates the idea, only agreeing when Botan points out that A) the Spirit thinks she's evil and B) they have no way to tell it otherwise. Even then, she rejects Botan's efforts to turn her against Sie - and absolutely _refuses_ to sleep with him. Even if "Botan knows best," she just can't stomach the idea. This cuts down on Botan's satisfaction a bit, but she lets it slide for now; Athena's still fighting the good fight.

(That _is_, btw, how Athena feels about Kensou in this story. She thinks he's too goofy for a _boy_friend; she just wants to be friends. She was simply _overwhelmed_ when he confessed at the end of Botan 1, that's all.)

So, Athena heads out for the day - and now that she's not so damn worried about training, she starts catching up on the idol career she's been neglecting. Of course she works just as hard when she meets Kensou and Chin, just to keep up appearances. Meanwhile she encourages Kensou's efforts to summon the Spirit, even going into his mind to try to boost his determination. When she does, though, she finds he's got more than enough already (for once).

That night she goes to Botan's to report, with mixed results. Botan's happy Kensou's so eager to doom himself, but annoyed he didn't make any progress. But while they're talking, it comes out that the Soldiers are returning to China in six days, giving Botan a time limit. (She can't really do much from another country, after all.) Regretting again making her a partner instead of a slave, she practically _pleads_ for Athena to change Kensou's mind, no matter _how_ she has to do it.

But then a funny thing happens. (...even in my summaries I use that. What's next, eyes wide as saucers?) Athena says she'll try, but because Kensou's a psychic too, she's not sure how much she can change without him catching on. To that end, she was hoping her new _sensei_ could give her some telepathy training. Botan's stunned, of course, and reluctant at first since she's never been a _real sensei_ in her life. But when Athena asks for tips on how to sneak around someone's psyche, Botan finds she has tons of advice. The two end up talking shop for over an hour, and when Athena leaves Botan goes to bed with a smile on her face.

A few days pass, mostly in the same way. Athena goes out, handles business, goes to training, handles Kensou, goes to Botan's, reports, and has dinner and shop talk. Thanks to Athena's "help" (I never figured out what it was), Kensou starts making progress, summoning the Spirit several times but not long enough to expose any weaknesses. Unfortunately for Botan, Chin recognizes Athena's newfound interest in Kensou's powers, privately growing suspicious.

Botan doesn't know this, of course - but she's a nervous wreck anyway, thanks to the time limit. Kensou's still not progressing fast enough, and since Athena won't throw herself at him there's nothing she can do about it. On the plus side, she's really enjoying the nights she spends with her (not doing _that_, you (fellow) perverts). It's exactly what she's always wanted: a _friend_, able to think for herself and have conversations about things they're both interested in. So despite Athena's stubbornness, Botan's happy with what she made her; now all she regrets is that she didn't account for her big heart.

On the second-to-last day, though, Botan cracks. In the morning she gets Athena to meet her for coffee, where she demands for her to tell Kensou she'll sleep with him if he masters the Spirit in Japan. When Athena refuses, Botan seizes her hand, disables her and _com_mands her instead, along with making her make sure it sticks (and forget she did it). Horrified, Athena realizes Botan really _is_ evil...but she makes her go through with it before she can put up a fight. When she's finished, she agrees with a smile on her face. (Botan realizes this is the end of their "partnership", but hey - at least she's still got a friend.)

Before Athena can give Kensou the good news, though, he does what she wants anyway. He manages to summon the Spirit completely, drawing it out of his body and into the real world. It praises him, then tells him his next step is to learn to _defend_ it. When Athena asks what that means, it reveals Sie should now be able to willingly transfer the Spirit to someone else - and it can only stop him if he sees the need for its help. So if he doesn't beef up his mental defenses, he could be tricked or forced into putting the Dragon Spirit into the wrong hands. Sensing Athena's power, but not her reprogramming, it asks her to help him, to which she eagerly agrees. (She considers telling it Botan's not really evil, but decides she trusts _her_ more than she trusts _it_.)

When the Spirit's gone, Athena races off and calls Botan, who is ecstatic. Athena asks if she should take the Spirit now or wait until after training - but Botan wants to take it herself. That raises a red flag for Athena, but Botan lowers it by saying she thinks the Spirit could help her bring peace. She then has her tell Sie to meet her at her apartment...so they can "celebrate".

(Between these scenes, I'd intended to have Botan prepare Athena for the next phase of her plan. Something about having her wait until they'd won, then make herself "evil" or something. I never worked out the details, but they're irrelevant anyway because...well, you'll see.)

That night Kensou arrives and rings Athena's doorbell, sweating bullets. With her new _sensei_ hiding in the back, Athena answers wearing nothing but a slinky negligee. The moment he sees her his heart stops (not _literally_, of course)...but when she puts her hands up on his cheeks, all his anxieties melt away. ...and _that's_ when she hits him.

Within seconds, Athena destroys Sie's defenses, enters his mind and makes him docile. She then leads him into the main room, where Botan is waiting. Savoring the moment, she takes his hand and gives him the order herself. Too zombielike to see the need for help, Kensou starts to transfer the Spirit...

...until Athena's _old sensei_ clocks her with a _sake_ bottle, knocking her out. (His suspicions on full blast, Chin had followed Sie in secret. And if you're wondering why Athena didn't catch him, it's an _evil_ radar, not a Spidey sense.) His mind instantly clear again, Kensou realizes what he's doing and quickly "sees the need". The Spirit awakens, busting through the ceiling again; it takes one look at Botan, sees what she was trying to do, and snaps. With an ungodly roar, it rushes Botan and _rips_ through her, tearing her body to shreds. She, of course, dies immediately...just as it had told her she would if she approached the Soldiers again. (See? I remembered!)

All the noise, however, has woken up Athena too. Her reprogramming still intact, she screams in horror as her BFF is obliterated. Stunned, Kensou tries to talk to her - and her head _snaps_ up to him, a hateful scowl on her face. In an instant, she's back in his mind, intending to make him take back the Spirit and revive Botan. (He'd used it before to revive Bao, back in the Soldiers' ending for KOF2000.)

But, uh, _no_. That is _not_ happening. Before she can even give the order, the Spirit freezes her in place, destroys _her_ defenses and enters _her_ mind. Seeing what she's done, it deprograms her with a flash of light, and her eyes widen (into saucers?) with a different kind of horror. As she reels, the Spirit coldly tells Kensou to seek help elsewhere, as Athena clearly needs work on defense herself.

Then it's gone, and Athena bursts into tears. She remembers it all now: the things she did, the fact that she agreed to do them, how little Botan had had to change her - and the torture she'd used to make it happen. Chin and Sie try to console her, but she shrugs them away; she can't believe all this happened, can't believe she was so weak. Most of all, she can't believe Kensou could love a miserable failure like her.

Before Kensou can argue, the cops show up. (The Spirit _did_ bust through the ceiling. And make an ungodly roar.) They get statements and all that junk, and as Athena tearfully answers questions, she eventually goes numb. When they're done, they say they've checked up on the group's history and believe their story - but the apartment's too damaged for Athena to stay there. Kensou offers his and Chin's place (to Chin's mild annoyance), and she agrees without saying a word.

She doesn't talk during the ride there, either, except to ask Chin and Sie not to try to talk to _her_. When she gets there she collapses on the couch, where she falls into a dismal sleep. Later that night, Kensou wakes up to hear her crying; he goes out to talk to her and gets pretty much the same negativity from before. He assures her she's still a strong, good-hearted, wonderful woman, and he will always love her.

To his (and her!) surprise, Athena chooses _that moment_ to tell him she doesn't love him back. After the initial shock, though, Kensou tells her he already knew it. "Why do you think it took me so long to confess?", he asks. (...we'll ignore their 2000 intro, aheh. Why not, SNK does...) But his secret's out now anyway, so he wants her to know he _still_ loves her - even after _her_ confession. He's sad she doesn't feel the same way, but he values their friendship too much to let it change things between them.

...at which point she gets up, walks over to him, sits on his lap (still in the negligee) and kisses him. He starts to tell her "not like this" - but she cuts him off, saying right now she needs this more than _he_ does. He carries her back to his room, where the will-they-won't-they is _finally_ answered. As they drift off to sleep, she promises that even if they don't pursue this, she won't have any regrets.

And then she wakes up, and she _does_...so she uses her powers to erase them.  
If she did it for Botan, after all, she can certainly do it for him.

(I'll leave whether they pursued it to your imagination. I'd like to think that they did, but hey - I ship 'em ;)

* * *

Alright, guys and gals - that's about it from me. Hope you enjoyed the pseudo-fic :) See you around...!


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